release-notes-1.8.rst

Zephyr Kernel 1.8.0

We are pleased to announce the release of Zephyr kernel version 1.8.0.

Major enhancements with this release include:

• Tickless kernel
• IP Stack improvements
• Bluetooth 5.0 features
• Ecosystem: Tracing, debugging support through third-party tools (openocd, Segger Systemview)
• Improved build support on Mac and Windows development environments
• Xtensa GCC support
• Initial implementation of MMU/MPU support
• Expanded device support

The following sections provide detailed lists of changes by component.

Kernel

• Use k_cycle_get_32 instead of sys_cycle_get_32 for Kernel
• Added k_panic() and k_oops() APIs for Kernel
• Added k_thread_create() API for Kernel
• Added k_queue API for Kernel
• Add tickless kernel support

Architectures

• arm: Update core to use struct k_thread
• arm: Added ARM MPU support
• dts: Added ARM CMSDK support
• arm: Added Initial support for NXP MPU
• arm: Added Device Tree Support for nRF52832 SoC based boards
• arm: Fixed nRF52840-QIAA SoC support for device tree
• arm: Added Device Tree Support for nRF52840 SoC & boards
• arm: Added Device Tree Support for nRF51822 SoC & boards
• dts: Introduced st/mem.h for FLASH & SRAM sizes
• dts: Put IRQ priority into the interrupt property
• arm: Support for MKL25Z soc
• arm: Added FPU support
• x86: defined MMU data structures
• Support for ARC EM Starter Kit version 2.3 added

Boards

• Added qemu_xtensa board definition
• Added a more informative page fault handler x86 board
• xtensa: build similar to other Zephyr arches
• Define MMU data structures for x86 board
• Added support for board disco_l475_iot1
• Added STM32F413 Nucleo board
• Added support for the CC3220SF_LAUNCHXL board
• Support for new ARM board FRDM-KL25Z
• arduino_101 board enable GPIO by default
• boards: convert to using newly introduced integer sized types
• arm: Added support for Nucleo L432KC board
• arm: Added support for STM32L496G Discovery board
• arm: Added support for STM32F469I-DISCO board
• BBC micro:bit: Added driver & API for the 5x5 LED display

Drivers and Sensors

• UART interrupt-driver API is better defined
• Support for pull-style console API
• nRF5 IEEE 802.15.4 radio driver added
• KW41Z IEEE 802.15.4 radio driver added
• Added MCUX TRNG driver
• Added support for the SiFive Freedom E310 pinmux driver
• drivers/sensor: Convert formatter strings to use PRI defines
• Added lps22hb sensor driver
• Added lsm6dsl sensor driver
• Added heart rate sensor driver
• Added support for max30101 heart rate sensor
• Added support for lis2dh accelerometer

Networking

• HTTPS server support added
• HTTP Basic-Auth support added
• IPv6 fragmentation support added
• Add block wise support to CoAP for well-known response
• Big refactoring of network buffer handling
• Start to collect TCP statistics if enabled in config
• IEEE 802.15.4 security support added
• DNS resolver sample application added
• IPv6 multicast listener (MLDv2) support added
• NATS protocol sample application added
• HTTP client and server connectivity fixes
• Network samples Coverity fixes
• Network samples llvm compiler warning fixes
• MQTT publisher connectivity fixes
• 6lo IPv6 header compression fixes
• CoAP connectivity fixes
• DHCPv4 connectivity fixes
• TCP connectivity fixes
• DNS documentation and connectivity fixes
• IPv6 connectivity fixes
• IPv4 ARP fixes
• IEEE 802.15.4 configuration tweaking fixes
• Remove ORFD (Overly Reduced Function Device) 802.15.4 support
• Network offloading driver fixes
• Fix various memory leaks
• Properly check TCP and UDP checksum before accepting packet
• Start RX and TX network threads in proper order
• Network samples documentation fixes and clarifications
• RPL mesh routing fixes
• Network link (MAC) address fixes

Bluetooth

• Host: Added ATT and SMP packet tracking for flow control enforcement
• Host: GATT database changed to a linked list in preparation for dynamic allocation
• Bluetooth 5.0: The Controller reports itself as 5.0-capable
• Bluetooth 5.0: Introduced Channel Selection Algorithm #2 support
• Bluetooth 5.0: Added Multiple PHY support, both 2Mbit/s and long-range coded
• Bluetooth 5.0: Integrated Scan Request notifications
• Controller: Added Low Duty Cycle Directed Advertising support
• Controller: Added Scan duplicate filtering support
• Controller: Enforced complete role separation in the controller for smaller builds
• Controller: Introduced Advanced Controller configuration with several new Kconfig options
• Controller: Changed the radio interrupts to direct ISRs to reduce interrupt latency
• Added HCI Controller to Host flow control support in both Host and Controller
• BR/EDR: Added HFP (e)SCO audio channel establishment support
• BR/EDR: Added support for a functional SDP server

Build and Infrastructure

• Support building host tools
• Added separate DTS target
• Added support for MSYS2
• Use -O2 instead of -Os for ARC with SDK 0.9

Libraries

• Added library for software driven I2C
• Created a HTTP library
• Added HTTP server library support
• Added minimal JSON library
• Update TinyCrypt to version 0.2.6
• Added minimal JSON library

HALs

• Added Atmel SAM family I2C (TWIHS) driver
• Added Atmel SAM serial (UART) driver
• Added WDT driver for Atmel SAM SoCs
• Added Atmel SAM4S SoC support
• Imported Nordic 802.15.4 radio driver
• Added Initial support for NXP MPU
• Updated QMSI to 1.4 RC4
• Added FPU support
• Added basic support for STM32F413
• Introduced STM32F4x DMA driver
• pinmux: stm32: Added support for Nucleo L432KC
• Added support for STM32L496G Discovery board
• Added dts for STM32F407
• Added support for STM32F4DISCOVERY Board
• Added support for STM32F469XI
• Added support for STM32F469I-DISCO

Documentation

• Board documentation added for new board ports
• Added a board porting guide
• Added security sections to porting and user guides
• Continued migration of wiki.zephyrproject.org material to website and github wiki
• Improved CSS formatting and appearance of generated documents
• Added breadcrumb navigation header with kernel version number
• Updated getting started setup guides for Linux, Windows, and macOS
• Updates and additions to follow new and updated kernel features
• Broken link and spelling check scans
• Removed deprecated kernel documentation (pre 1.6 release) from website (still available in git repo if needed)

Tests and Samples

• Added test to verify same tick timeout expiry order
• Added clock_test for kernel
• Added tickless tests
• Added a simple CC2520 crypto dev test
• Added combined observer & broadcaster app for Bluetooth samples
• Added support to wait both IPv4 and IPv6
• Enabled tickless kernel option in some apps

JIRA Related Items

• :jira:`ZEP-248` - Add a BOARD/SOC porting guide
• :jira:`ZEP-339` - Tickless Kernel
• :jira:`ZEP-540` - add APIs for asynchronous transfer callbacks
• :jira:`ZEP-628` - Validate RPL Routing node support
• :jira:`ZEP-638` - feature to consider: flag missing functionality at build time when possible
• :jira:`ZEP-720` - Add MAX30101 heart rate sensor driver
• :jira:`ZEP-828` - IPv6 - Multicast Join/Leave Support
• :jira:`ZEP-843` - Unified assert/unrecoverable error infrastructure
• :jira:`ZEP-888` - 802.15.4 - Security support
• :jira:`ZEP-932` - Adapt kernel sample & test projects
• :jira:`ZEP-948` - Revisit the timeslicing algorithm
• :jira:`ZEP-973` - Remove deprecated API related to device PM functions and DEVICE_ and SYS_* macros
• :jira:`ZEP-1028` - shrink k_block struct size
• :jira:`ZEP-1032` - IPSP router role support
• :jira:`ZEP-1169` - Sample mbedDTLS DTLS client stability on ethernet driver
• :jira:`ZEP-1171` - Event group kernel APIs
• :jira:`ZEP-1280` - Provide Event Queues Object
• :jira:`ZEP-1313` - porting and user guides must include a security section
• :jira:`ZEP-1326` - Clean up _THREAD_xxx APIs
• :jira:`ZEP-1388` - Add support for KW40 SoC
• :jira:`ZEP-1391` - Add support for Hexiwear KW40
• :jira:`ZEP-1392` - Add FXAS21002 gyroscope sensor driver
• :jira:`ZEP-1435` - Improve Quark SE C1000 ARC Floating Point Performance
• :jira:`ZEP-1438` - AIO: AIO Comparator is not stable on D2000 and Arduino101
• :jira:`ZEP-1463` - Add Zephyr Support in segger SystemView
• :jira:`ZEP-1500` - net/mqtt: Test case for the MQTT high-level API
• :jira:`ZEP-1528` - Provide template for multi-core applications
• :jira:`ZEP-1529` - Unable to exit menuconfig
• :jira:`ZEP-1530` - Hotkeys for the menu at the bottom of menuconfig sometimes doesn't work
• :jira:`ZEP-1568` - Replace arm cortex_m scs and scb functionality with direct CMSIS-core calls
• :jira:`ZEP-1586` - menuconfig: Backspace is broken
• :jira:`ZEP-1599` - printk() support for the '-' indicator in format string (left justifier)
• :jira:`ZEP-1607` - JSON encoding/decoding library
• :jira:`ZEP-1621` - Stack Monitoring
• :jira:`ZEP-1631` - Ability to use k_mem_pool_alloc (or similar API) from ISR
• :jira:`ZEP-1684` - Add Atmel SAM family watchdog (WDT) driver
• :jira:`ZEP-1695` - Support ADXL362 sensor
• :jira:`ZEP-1698` - BME280 support for SPI communication
• :jira:`ZEP-1711` - xtensa build defines Kconfigs with lowercase names
• :jira:`ZEP-1718` - support for IPv6 fragmentation
• :jira:`ZEP-1719` - TCP does not work with 6lo
• :jira:`ZEP-1721` - many TinyCrypt test cases only run on ARM and x86
• :jira:`ZEP-1722` - xtensa: TinyCrypt does not build
• :jira:`ZEP-1735` - Controller to Host flow control
• :jira:`ZEP-1759` - All python scripts needed for build should be moved to python 3 to minimize dependencies
• :jira:`ZEP-1761` - K_MEM_POOL_DEFINE build error "invalid register name" when built with llvm/icx from ISSM toolchain
• :jira:`ZEP-1769` - Implement Set Event Mask and LE Set Event Mask commands
• :jira:`ZEP-1772` - re-introduce controller to host flow control
• :jira:`ZEP-1776` - sending LE COC data from RX thread can lead to deadlock
• :jira:`ZEP-1785` - Tinytile: Flashing not supported with this board
• :jira:`ZEP-1788` - [REG] bt_enable: No HCI driver registered
• :jira:`ZEP-1800` - Update external mbed TLS library to latest version (2.4.2)
• :jira:`ZEP-1812` - Add tickless kernel support in HPET timer
• :jira:`ZEP-1816` - Add tickless kernel support in LOAPIC timer
• :jira:`ZEP-1817` - Add tickless kernel support in ARCV2 timer
• :jira:`ZEP-1818` - Add tickless kernel support in cortex_m_systick timer
• :jira:`ZEP-1821` - Update PM apps to use mili/micro seconds instead of ticks
• :jira:`ZEP-1823` - Improved Benchmarks
• :jira:`ZEP-1825` - Context Switching KPI
• :jira:`ZEP-1836` - Expose current ecb_encrypt() as bt_encrypt() so host can directly access it
• :jira:`ZEP-1856` - remove legacy micro/nano kernel APIs
• :jira:`ZEP-1857` - Build warnings [-Wpointer-sign] with LLVM/icx (bluetooth_handsfree)
• :jira:`ZEP-1866` - Add Atmel SAM family I2C (TWIHS) driver
• :jira:`ZEP-1880` - "samples/grove/temperature": warning raised when generating configure file
• :jira:`ZEP-1886` - Build warnings [-Wpointer-sign] with LLVM/icx (tests/net/nbuf)
• :jira:`ZEP-1887` - Build warnings [-Wpointer-sign] with LLVM/icx (tests/drivers/spi/spi_basic_api)
• :jira:`ZEP-1893` - openocd: 'make flash' works with Zephyr SDK only and fails for all other toolchains
• :jira:`ZEP-1896` - [PTS] L2CAP/LE/CFC/BV-06-C
• :jira:`ZEP-1899` - Missing board documentation for xtensa/xt-sim
• :jira:`ZEP-1908` - Missing board documentation for arm/nucleo_96b_nitrogen
• :jira:`ZEP-1910` - Missing board documentation for arm/96b_carbon
• :jira:`ZEP-1927` - AIO: AIO_CMP_POL_FALL is triggered immediately after aio_cmp_configure
• :jira:`ZEP-1935` - Packet loss make RPL mesh more vulnerable
• :jira:`ZEP-1936` - tests/drivers/spi/spi_basic_api/testcase.ini#test_spi - Assertion Fail
• :jira:`ZEP-1946` - Time to Next Event
• :jira:`ZEP-1955` - Nested interrupts crash on Xtensa architecture
• :jira:`ZEP-1959` - Add Atmel SAM family serial (UART) driver
• :jira:`ZEP-1965` - net-tools HEAD is broken for QEMU/TAP
• :jira:`ZEP-1966` - Doesn't seem to be able to both send and receive locally via local address
• :jira:`ZEP-1968` - "make mrproper" removes top-level dts/ dir, makes ARM builds fail afterwards
• :jira:`ZEP-1980` - Move app_kernel benchmark to unified kernel
• :jira:`ZEP-1984` - net_nbuf_append(), net_nbuf_append_bytes() have data integrity problems
• :jira:`ZEP-1990` - Basic support for the BBC micro:bit LED display
• :jira:`ZEP-1993` - Flowcontrol Required for CDC_ACM
• :jira:`ZEP-1995` - samples/subsys/console breaks xtensa build
• :jira:`ZEP-1997` - Crash during startup if co-processors are present
• :jira:`ZEP-2008` - Port tickless idle test to unified kernel and cleanup
• :jira:`ZEP-2009` - Port test_sleep test to unified kernel and cleanup
• :jira:`ZEP-2011` - Retrieve RPL node information through CoAP requests
• :jira:`ZEP-2012` - Fault in networking stack for cores that can't access unaligned memory
• :jira:`ZEP-2013` - dead object monitor code
• :jira:`ZEP-2014` - Default samples/subsys/shell/shell fails to build on QEMU RISCv32 / NIOS2
• :jira:`ZEP-2019` - Xtensa port does not compile if CONFIG_TICKLESS_IDLE is enabled
• :jira:`ZEP-2027` - Bluetooth Peripheral Sample won't pair with certain Android devices
• :jira:`ZEP-2029` - xtensa: irq_offload() doesn't work on XRC_D2PM
• :jira:`ZEP-2033` - Channel Selection Algorithm #2
• :jira:`ZEP-2034` - High Duty Cycle Non-Connectable Advertising
• :jira:`ZEP-2037` - Malformed echo response
• :jira:`ZEP-2048` - Change UART "baud-rate" property to "current-speed"
• :jira:`ZEP-2051` - Move away from C99 types to zephyr defined types
• :jira:`ZEP-2052` - arm: unhandled exceptions in thread take down entire system
• :jira:`ZEP-2055` - Add README.rst in the root of the project for github
• :jira:`ZEP-2057` - crash in tests/net/rpl on qemu_x86 causing intermittent sanitycheck failure
• :jira:`ZEP-2061` - samples/net/dns_resolve networking setup/README is confusing
• :jira:`ZEP-2064` - RFC: Making net_shell command handlers reusable
• :jira:`ZEP-2065` - struct dns_addrinfo has unused fields
• :jira:`ZEP-2066` - nitpick: SOCK_STREAM/SOCK_DGRAM values swapped compared to most OSes
• :jira:`ZEP-2069` - samples: net: dhcpv4_client: runs failed on frdm k64f board
• :jira:`ZEP-2070` - net pkt doesn't full unref after send a data form bluetooth's ipsp
• :jira:`ZEP-2076` - samples: net: coaps_server: build failed
• :jira:`ZEP-2077` - Fix IID when using CONFIG_NET_L2_BLUETOOTH_ZEP1656
• :jira:`ZEP-2080` - No reply from RPL node after 20-30 minutes.
• :jira:`ZEP-2092` - [NRF][BT] Makefile:946: recipe for target 'include/generated/generated_dts_board.h' failed
• :jira:`ZEP-2114` - tests/kernel/fatal : Fail for QC1000/arc
• :jira:`ZEP-2125` - Compilation error when UART1 port is enabled via menuconfig
• :jira:`ZEP-2132` - Build samples/bluetooth/hci_uart fail
• :jira:`ZEP-2138` - Static code scan (coverity) issues seen
• :jira:`ZEP-2143` - Compilation Error on Windows 10 with MSYS2
• :jira:`ZEP-2152` - Xtensa crashes on startup for cores with coprocessors
• :jira:`ZEP-2178` - Static code scan (coverity) issues seen